The BadNokia's Ovi Store is still weak; user interface looks dated; not the easiest phone to use; connecting to Wi-Fi is fiddly; keys are too small.

The Bottom LineThe Nokia N86 8MP sticks to the template used by N-series classics like the N95. Compared to some of the innovative phones coming out now, the N86 feels rather dated, but it's still a solid, powerful and feature-packed smart phone, and its excellent camera helps it to stand out

The creator of the first industry-standard noise-canceling headphones returns with an...

Once upon a time, the Nokia N95
came into our lives and swept us off our feet. It was a super smart phone with
unbeatable connectivity, built-in sat-nav and the ability to install
applications. The Nokia N86 8MP is a worthy contender for the N-series crown
and shows off what Nokia does best, but there's been plenty of smart-phone-flavoured water under the bridge since the series was launched. There's
nothing wrong with this phone -- it's a powerhouse, and the 8-megapixel camera
is fantastic -- but it's something of a rehash of what's come before, and didn't
send us into a gadget-lust frenzy.

The N86 8MP is available from free on a £25-per-month
contract, or for £400 unlocked and SIM-free.

It's shootin' timeA rare beast only a few short months ago, 8-megapixel camera
phones now roam the phone savannahs in multitudes. Mostly, they just prove how it takes more than
megapixels to take a good photo, but the N86's camera is impressive. In good light, it
does a solid job of capturing bright, accurate colours. But, in low light, the
camera -- and its two LED photo lights -- really shine. It still doesn't provide the picture quality of a proper compact
camera, but our snaps were shockingly clear even when we simulated the dark
lighting and shaky hands of a shot taken on a night out on the razzle. Also, the lack of
shutter lag is superb -- there's almost no delay between pressing the camera button
and taking a photo.

The camera button itself could be bigger but that's a small complaint, especially
considering everything else that Nokia's packed inside. There are heaps of
settings, like an easy-to-use panorama mode, and plenty of editing options for cropping and tweaking photos. There's even a tiny sliding cover to keep the
Carl Zeiss lens covered. It's sure to get caked with crud after months in
your pocket, but at least it'll keep the lens scratch-free. Opening it
launches the camera automatically.

The sliding cover should help keep the camera lens clean for a while at least

Unfortunately, sharing snaps isn't as easy as with other
phones. The on-board photo-sharing application supports Vox, Flickr and Nokia's
own Ovi service, but it would have been great to see more choices, like Facebook,
on there too. When we tried to upload our test shots to Flickr, it failed, providing a meaningless and unhelpful message.

The N86 is much more than a camera phone, but it's a great
choice if you're looking for a fast snapper with above-average quality and plenty of extras.

Tiny buttons
As mentioned earlier, the camera's shutter
button is small and hard to use. In fact, all the keys are rather fiddly. There
are several keys on the front of the phone under the screen -- a five-way
navigation button, call and end buttons, two context-sensitive buttons, a clear
button and an angled menu button. None of them are labelled, except for the
clear button, which is denoted by a tiny, cryptic 'C'. It helps the phone look cool,
but there's so much room for easy-to-press buttons that we can't help thinking the N86 sacrifices way too much usability for style.

The N86 is a two-way slider phone. Sliding the screen one way reveals the number buttons, which are the size and shape of big grains of rice -- potentially a problem for those with fat fingers. Sliding the screen the other way exposes four stubby keys that can control the media player or games. It's
a cool addition that doesn't make the phone any bigger, and the slider feels
solid and well-made.

Time for a refreshIf you've used a Nokia phone before, you won't have any trouble with the
N86, but it isn't the easiest phone to use. For example, there
are tonnes of great apps out there for Nokia phones, but finding and installing them tends to be a confusing process, with numerous unclear messages to accept.